darknovel Chapter 8: The Jade Pivot Edict to Destroy the Classics
Chapter 8: The Jade Pivot Edict to Destroy the Classics
Pukoufang Market.
Scattered stalls.
Today, an unusual number of independent cultivators have gathered, and the leaders are all cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining.
Li Wu had specially prepared a wooden table, stood on it, looked at the cultivators below, and bowed, saying:
"You have all come here today, presumably for the Beast Repellent Powder. However, I only have ten bottles of it, which is not enough for you all to share equally."
"Fellow Daoist Li, there's no need for further words. Just tell me what to do."
Everyone here has been in the Pukou market for years or even decades, and they already have a guess on what Li Wu will do next.
Li Wu smiled calmly after being interrupted, and continued:
"Then I won't waste any more time. Since everyone wants the beast-repelling powder, the highest bidder wins. Each bottle contains at least fifty catties of spirit rice. You may now place your bids."
"I'll offer sixty catties!"
A man carrying a large sword shouted loudly, then coldly swept his gaze around and said in a deep voice:
"I hope you fellow Daoists will give me, Old Niu, some face and let me have this bottle of Beast-Repelling Powder. I promise I will never compete with you again."
Upon seeing this person, several cultivators who had intended to bid lowered their raised hands and remained silent.
This puzzled Li Wu, but fortunately He Yu explained at this moment:
"His name is Niu Er. He is a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator who is skilled with a large sword. His strength ranks among the top five among rogue cultivators in the early stage of Qi Refining. He also has five Qi Refining Level 3 cultivators under his command."
Li Wuwei nodded slightly.
No wonder the others dared not compete with him.
However, Li Wu didn't care, since he wasn't losing out no matter how you looked at it.
So, I decisively handed the first bottle to the other party and congratulated them with a cupped hand:
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Niu, on obtaining your first bottle of Beast-Repelling Powder."
Niu Er took the beast-repelling powder, nodded to the person beside him to hand the spirit rice to Li Wu, and then said:
"Fellow Daoist Li, if you have any more beast-repelling powder next time, save me a bottle. I'll still take sixty catties of spirit rice as usual."
"No problem," Li Wu replied with a smile.
After hearing this, Niu Er nodded, turned around and left with his men, truly not competing for the next beast-driving powder.
Li Wusun finally understood that Niu Er was a man of his word.
Afterwards, Li Wu began selling the remaining beast-repelling powder.
They sold out in no time, earning a total of six and a half spirit stones.
They sold it for a full one and a half spirit stones more than the normal price.
Li Wuqing counted the spirit stones and spirit rice, pondering in his heart:
"Keep two and a half spirit stones for the next batch of goods, and return the half spirit stone to Lu Sui, so we can have three and a half spirit stones left over."
"Not bad, not bad. My earnings are much higher than those of the disciples who are in the mid-stage of Qi Refining."
"Sure enough, if you want to make money, you need a middleman to take the difference."
Now that we have plenty of spirit stones, the next step is naturally to purchase cultivation resources and quickly open up our acupoints.
With this in mind, Li Wu went to Jianxiawu to buy demon beast essence blood and pills, and then began to cultivate.
Aside from purchasing and selling goods every month, he spends most of his time in seclusion.
…………
Sun rises and sets, spring goes and autumn comes.
A year and a half has passed in the blink of an eye.
Pukoufang Market.
No. 3, Jia, is a small courtyard with two courtyards.
The courtyard is equipped with a [Gathering Spirit] and [Silence] formation, making it rich in spiritual energy, several times that of the outer courtyard.
However, the price is quite high, requiring a full five spirit stones a year, which most of the rogue cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining in the market cannot afford.
Li Wu sat in the pavilion, facing a rockery and pond, where more than ten fish swam leisurely.
As he sipped the spiritual tea, he pondered:
"Over the past year and a half, I have diligently cultivated without ever slacking off. Not only have I opened up six acupoints, but I have also broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Next, I need to plan my Qi Refining technique."
Li Wu also knew about Qi cultivation techniques.
The martial arts techniques of the Yue Kingdom are divided into nine grades.
The first to third grade techniques are Qi Refining Techniques, the fourth and fifth grades are Foundation Building Techniques, and the sixth and seventh grades are Purple Mansion Techniques.
The higher the grade of the cultivation technique, the more detailed the recorded information.
For example, the cultivation techniques for grades one to three only have the Qi Refining chapter, while the cultivation techniques for grades four and five contain secret techniques that can increase the chances of Foundation Establishment.
However, Foundation Establishment techniques are extremely expensive, with even the cheapest costing over a hundred spirit stones.
Half a year ago, the monster riot in Chishan was suppressed by three Foundation Establishment cultivators. After they drove all the mid-stage Qi Refining monsters back into the mountains, only some early-stage Qi Refining monsters remained on the outskirts.
This affected Li Wu's beast-driving powder business, cutting his income in half.
"And right now I have about fifty or sixty spirit stones on me," Li Wu thought to himself.
"We also need to reserve a certain number of spirit stones for working purposes; we can only use about thirty or forty."
"Let's go check out Jianxiawu."
With a single thought from Li Wunian, the world began to turn.
…………
Jianxiawu, the inner city.
If you were to ask where in the city the cultivation manuals were sold, the place at the very center would be the [True Word Hall]. It contained hundreds of manuals of various kinds, including the Five Virtues, the Twelve Qi, and so on. Li Wu had visited it several times, and it broadened his horizons considerably.
Li Wu strode into the hall, where a Taoist priest greeted him; the priest was also a cultivator with all six orifices open.
The Taoist bowed to Li Wu and said loudly:
"Fellow Daoist, do you have any interest in the Daoist lineage?"
"Nothing at the moment." Li Wu shook his head.
"Then I will recommend a couple to you, fellow Daoist."
The Taoist priest led Li Wu to a place and pointed to a jade slip, saying:
"This technique is called the Mountain Mist Clear Rain Technique. It is a second-grade technique. It requires swallowing the Mountain Rain Clear Qi. It also includes a Qi gathering method. It only costs thirty-two spirit stones."
Li Wu shook his head. A second-grade cultivation technique was simply too low-level and didn't meet his requirements. So he said:
"Are there any cultivation techniques of the fourth or fifth rank?"
"Of course there are."
The Taoist nodded, and then led Li Wu deeper into the main hall, where he used a special incantation to retrieve a jade slip from a hidden compartment.
"This is the 'Shanyin Stone-Pounding Scripture,' a fourth-grade foundation-building cultivation method, priced at one hundred and eighteen spirit stones."
One hundred and eighteen spirit stones!
Li Wu clicked his tongue in amazement; this fourth-grade cultivation technique was far too expensive. Moreover, after purchasing the technique, one would need to ingest a corresponding amount of spiritual energy to break through to the next level.
Li Wu frowned slightly, looked at the Taoist priest, coughed twice, and asked softly:
"Fellow Daoist, do you have any cultivation techniques that are both high-grade and inexpensive?"
Upon hearing this, the Taoist priest showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, he gave Li Wu a meaningful look several times, then smiled and said:
"Of course, fellow Daoist, please follow me."
For some reason, Li Wu felt that the other party was becoming even more enthusiastic towards him.
Upon arriving at a new place, the Taoist priest took out a jade box and handed it to Li Wu.
"This technique is called the Jade Pivot Edict of Extermination Scripture. It was originally a Purple Mansion Technique, but because it is an incomplete scroll, it has been downgraded to the fourth grade."
"If you wish, fellow Daoist, take forty spirit stones."
Li Wu raised an eyebrow. Forty spirit stones—that was two-thirds less than the previous fourth-grade cultivation technique.
"Could it be a fake technique? That shouldn't be the case..."
He had heard that the [Hall of Truth] was backed by a celestial sect. Since it was a celestial sect, it shouldn't be so presumptuous as to leave behind a fake cultivation technique.
After much deliberation, Li Wusi couldn't resist the temptation and nodded, saying:
"This one will do."
He could manage to come up with forty spirit stones if he gritted his teeth.